Bin Laden not killed in firefight
WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- U.S. officials now say Osama bin Laden was not killed in a firefight, and was not armed when he died.
The officials backed away from a number of claims made about the Pakistan raid by U.S. SEALs that killed the al-Qaida founder and leader Sunday night.
Politico reported Tuesday that during an off-camera briefing late Monday officials confirmed a woman was among the five people killed in the raid, but said she was not bin Laden's wife and bin Laden had not used her as a human shield.
John Brennan, deputy national security adviser, told reporters during a televised new conference Monday that bin Laden was part of the firefight during the 40-minute operation at the Abbottabad, Pakistan, compound.
And at a Pentagon briefing earlier in the day, a senior official said bin Laden was using the woman as a shield so he could fire off rounds -- "He was firing behind her" -- Politico reported. In another background briefing earlier Monday, an official said bin Laden was killed participating in the firefight.
However, Politico reported, a senior White House official said during the off-camera briefing later Monday that bin Laden was not armed when he was killed. A second official confirmed that fact to Politico.
A third official told Politico, "The bottom line is the team that entered that room was met with resistance and took appropriate action."
Though Monday night the White House refused to give details, an official confirmed bin Laden was shot twice, once in the head and once in the chest, the newspaper said.
Yet another official familiar with the operation said no woman was used as a human shield, but one woman was killed and one injured in the crossfire. Neither was bin Laden's wife.
Jihadist Web sites discuss bin laden death
NEW YORK, May 3 (UPI) -- Messages of disbelief and vows of revenge are appearing on jihadist Web sites over the death of Osama bin Laden, counterterrorism experts say.
Dr. Ely Karmon of the International Institute for Counterterrorism in Israel said the response has been huge but initially it was mainly from the West, the Christian Science Monitor reported Tuesday.
"There are three kinds of reaction so far," Karmon said, "some deploring the death and writing about the martyrdom of bin Laden."
He said others are talking about revenge for his death while two Taliban spokesmen have actually threatened retaliation.
Aaron Weisburd, field director for the Combatting Terrorism Center at West Point, said he is looking for signs of low morale among the rank-and-file.
"It may take a little time before the buzz of OBL's martyrdom wears off and they sober up and face the fact that none of them are safe and that God may not be on their side," Weisburd said.
Aaron Zelin, a researcher at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, said some of bin Laden's supporters appear to be in shock and don't want to believe the news that he is dead.
"Others want to hold off until they've heard from their own sources rather than infidel news services," Zelin told the Monitor.
An analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses, William McCants, said jihad supporters are using Facebook and Twitter to spread propaganda but most are still using mainstream forums.
Editorial notes bin Laden's impact
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, May 3 (UPI) -- The killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan by U.S. forces marked the end of an era but also raises questions, Pakistan's Dawn said in a Tuesday editorial.
"He is dead, and his demise marks the end of an era. America has finally killed the man whose pursuit had consumed the country for almost a decade, an extremist who inspired even more violence than he himself perpetuated," said the editorial in the country's leading newspaper.
Bin Laden was killed Monday in a raid by U.S. Navy SEALs at a compound in Abbottabad, northeast of Islamabad.
The editorial said bin Laden's killing raises "a slew of questions about the level of cooperation with Pakistani intelligence and the military ...
"Were they taken into confidence? If so, at what point? Were they consulted or simply informed? Did they play a role in the operation? If the attempt was purely an American one, were Pakistani radars jammed or dodged? If so, does this point to a failure of Pakistani defense systems? As long as the lack of official disclosure persists, conspiracy theories will continue to spread fear and suspicion here at home," the editorial said.
"As for Pakistan, the time for denial is over. Osama bin Laden was not holed up in a cave in the tribal agencies. He was living in a large house surrounded by high walls topped with barbed wire in a garrison town housing a military academy. The idea that the world`s most wanted criminal was spending his days there unnoticed by Pakistani intelligence requires either suspension of disbelief or the conclusion that the authorities are guilty of a massive intelligence failure."
Five arrested near U.K. nuclear site
MANCHESTER, England, May 3 (UPI) -- Five men have been arrested under Britain's Terrorism Act after they were discovered close to the site of a nuclear power plant in Cumbria, police said.
The suspects, all Londoners in their 20s, were in a vehicle that was stopped by officers from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary that guards the Sellafield nuclear site in Northwest England, The Guardian of Britain reported Tuesday.
Sellafield is responsible for decommissioning and reprocessing nuclear waste and manufacturing fuel.
The five suspects were arrested Monday afternoon and held overnight in Carlisle before being moved to Manchester Tuesday morning.
The men were thought to be filming near the nuclear site and all five were Bangladeshis, the BBC reported.
Greater Manchester police said the investigation is in its early stages.
They said they were not aware of any connection between the arrests and Sunday's death of Osama bin Laden by U.S. SEALs.
Turkey says Gadhafi should step down
TRIPOLI, Libya, May 3 (UPI) -- Turkey's prime minister says Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi must leave power immediately to stop the bloodshed and peacefully end the anti-government uprising.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Gadhafi had turned a blind eye to Turkey's advice to stop the violence and appoint a new political leader, Today's Zaman reported Tuesday.
"Gadhafi preferred to shed blood instead of heeding our calls," Erdogan said in a televised press conference. "We are done talking in Libya. We want him to leave power for a better future for his country."
Erdogan's remarks came as Turkey temporarily closed its embassy in Tripoli for security reasons, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
"Due to the change in the security situation in Libya and the great security risk it poses, our embassy has stopped functioning temporarily and has been evacuated," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.
The closure follows attacks on British and Italian diplomatic missions in the Libyan capital during the weekend.
Turkey has tried to mediate between the Libyan administration and opposition groups to achieve a cease-fire.
